Fuse-cartridge



G. AA CONRAD.

FUSE CARTRIDGE.

APPLICATION' FILED NOV. I8. i918 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE A. CONRAD,'OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

T 0 all whom t may concern.

Be it `known that I, GEORGE A. CONRAD, citizen -of the United States,residing at Detroit, county of Vayne, State of Michivan, haveinvented `acertain new and useful mprovement in Fuse-Cartridges, and de- Clare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, suchas will enable others skilled in the Vart to whichV it pertains to makeand use thesame, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, whichform a part of this specification.

My invention relates to a fuse cartridge shown in the accompanyingdrawings and more particularly described in the following specificationand claims. 'f One of the objects of this invention is to provide asimple and inexpensive fuse cartridge in'which the `fuse when blown maybe easily replaced at a minimum cost.

Another object ofthe invention is to pro- Y vide Va construction adaptedto arbitrarily control the maximum cross-sectional area of the fusestrip that maybe inserted in the cartridge, in order that no fuse stripcapable of carrying a greater amperagemay be inserted through accidentor design than was originally designed forV the installatioiji in whichit was employed.

Another object of the invention is to eliminate all screw-caps or otherlike c'ontrivances employed in devices of this 'character for engagingthe ends of the fuse strips to secure them in position within thecartridge. l Another feature lof the invention consists of a dividedinsulating support for the fuse strip secured together by metal caps`which engage the respective ends of Vthe divided insulation to grip thefuse strip between the same and also to serve as terminals for lthe endsof the fuse strip. v Another feature is the construction of the capsthemselves, which maybe struck up out of sheet metal with a projectingtongue to adapt theV cartridgeto be gripped between the opposing springsof a fusev board l(not shown). j f With the foregoing and otherl,objects in view, which will appear as the description proceeds', theinvention resides Ainthe combination and arrangement of parts and inFUsEGARTRIDGE.

Specification of'Letter'sPatent. Patented May 10, 1921, Application ledNovember 18, 19187. Serial No. 262,996. y

the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it beingunderstood that changes may be made in the precise embodiment of theinvention'herein described without departing from the spirit of thesame.

In the drawings accompanying this specification:

Figure l is a side elevation of a fuse cartridge embodying my invention.l Fig. 2 is a longitudinal central sectional View of the same. j

Fig.- 3 is a longitudinal sectional View with the end caps removed andthe divided insulating portion separated to show the projecting ribs of-one member of the insulating i portion; j

Fig. et is a longitudinal Vcentral sectional view of the fuse cartridge,showing the end capsv provided with a 4projecting tongue to adapt themto be engaged by a fuse board having opposing spring terminals;

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view 'through F ig.V 2 to show theprojecting ribs of one member of the insulating portion extending intorecesses in the other member of the j divided insulatingportion,-between which is ,lodged the fuse strip.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view showing theconstruction of theend cap disclosed in F ig. l. Fig. 7 is a modification of the end cap inwhich the projecting tongue is brazed to the body portion. i

Fig. 8 shows a. sheetl metal blank from which the cap shown in 6 isconstructed.`

Fig.V 9 is a perspective view of one part of the insulating portionYshowing afuse strip lodged between the ribs thereof,the endsof the stripbeing'bent over the end of the insulation in position to receive the endengag ing caps.

Referringv now to the lettersof reference placed upon the drawings f A,denotes afusecartridge, comprising a divided insulating portion B, Bf,one'part j of which isfprovlded with projecting ribs C, indicates a fusestrip lodged between the ribs Zi, ,the space between the ribscontrolling the maximum width of the fuse strip that may be lodgedbetween them. The fuse strip is gripped between the ends of the opposingparts of the insulating portion and its projecting ends, bent to overlapthe end of the insulation,with a return bend against the outer periaheral surface of the latter as indicated at 1. E, E, designate metalliccaps which engage the ends of the divided insulating portion to bindthem together,-the caps serving also as terminals f for the ends of thefuse strip upon which they impinge. The divided insulating portions B, Bare provided at opposite sides of the fuse strip C with recesses 1 and 2extending longitudinally of the said insulating portions and terminatingshort of the ends thereof. The recess l is located between thelongitudinal ribs b' and the recess 2 is preferably extended laterallyto receive the longitudinal ribs b when the insulating portions areassembled. The ends of the abutting curved portions 3 of the cap E aredesigned to be soldered, brazed or otherwise secured together to preventexpansion of the cap.

Instead of constructing the ribs Z2, of the divided insulating memberlcontinuous from end to end thereof; they may be of any other preferredconstruction.

It will be understood that thecross-sectional area of the fuse stripcontrols the amperage carried thereby ;-it will also be evident that thespace between the ribs of the divided insulating member controls themaximum width of the fuse strip which may be inserted theren,-while theend caps which engage the divided insulated member serve also to controlthe thickness of the fuse strip lodgedV between the latter; It istherefore evident that if the fuse is too thick the caps cannot beplaced over the ends of the insulating member and if too wide the fusestrip cannot be lodged between theribs ;-thus a fuse strip cannot beinserted in the cartridge capable of carrying greater amperage than thatdesigned therefor.

As shown in VF igs. 4 and 6 the caps E may be formed of sheet metalstruck from a blank as indicated in Fig. 8, land may be provided with aprojecting tongue E1, adapted to be gripped between the opposing springsof a fuse board (not shown). Instead of forming the tongue El as justdescribed, it may be a separate piece brazed to the body of the capasshown in Fig. 7.

aving thus described my invention, what I claim is: l

l; A fuse cartridge comprising an insulating member dividedlongitudinally withone portion rovided with projecting ribs spaced aparta apted to enter co-acting recesses in the opposing portion of saidinsulating member, a fuse strip lodged between the spaced ribs andengaging the inner faces and terminals of the same Iand extending beyondthe ends of the insulating member, and means adapted to embrace therespective ends of the divided insulating member adapted to bind theparts together to form a single unit and also to serve as terminals forthe fuse strip.

2. A fuse cartridge comprising an insulatingV member dividedlongitudinally having one portion provided with projecting ribs spacedapart adapted to enter corresponding recesses in the opposing portion ofthe divided insulating member, a fuse strip located between the ribs andbetween the opposing portions of the divided insulating member engagingthe said ribs at the inner faces and ends of the same and having itsends extending beyond the ends of the latter with a return bend adjacentto its outer peripheral surface, and a pair of annular caps adapted toembrace the ends of said divided insulating member to bindthe partstogether and to serve as terminals for the ends of the fuse strip.

3. A fuse cartridge comprising an insulating member dividedlongitudinally having one portion provided with projecting ribs spacedapart adapted to enter corresponding recesses in the opposing portionsof the divided insulating member, a fuse strip located between the ribsand between the opposing portions of the divided insulating member andengaging the said ribs at the inner faces and terminals of the same andhaving its ends extending beyond the ends of the latter'with a returnbend adjacent to its outer peripheral surface, said insulating memberbeing provided at opposite faces of` the fuse strip with longitudinalrecesses and a pair of annular caps adapted to embrace the ends of saiddivided insulating member to bind the parts together, said caps providedwith a projecting tongue, adapted to be engaged by the opposing springsof a fuse board.

4. fuse cartridge comprising an insulating member dividedlongitudinally, a fuse strip located between said divided portions withits ends extending beyond the respective ends of the latter, and meansfor bind- Ving said divided portions together to form asingle unit andto form terminals for the fuse strip, consisting of a member formed ofsheet metal shaped to form an annular band surrounding the end of theinsulating member with a strip bridging said band across the end of`said member.

5. A fuse cartridge comprising a longitudinallyV divided insulatingmember, one of the portions of the insulating member being provided withspaced longitudinal ribs and having a central longitudinal recessbetween the ribs and the other portion of the insulating member Vbeingprovided with a longitudinal recess receiving the said ribs, a fusestrip located between the portions of the insulating member andextending between the ribs, the recesses of the said portions of theinsulating member forming' divided portions ofthe insulating membertogether to form a single unit.

In testimony whereof I sign this specification in the presence of twowitnesses.

' GEORGE A. CONRAD. Witnesses:

EDWIN R. MONNIG, S. E. THOMAS.

